Asian Political Systems

Prof. Dr.Hoda Mitkees

 SOUTH KOREA
 Government of South Korea:
• The Government of South Korea is a centralized democratic republic
with the three primary branches of government; executive, legislative
and judicial. The president acts at the head of state and is the highest
figure of authority in the country, followed by the prime minister and
government ministers in decreasing order.
• The Executive and Legislative branches operate primarily at the national
level, although various ministries in the executive branch also carry out
local functions. Local governments are semi-autonomous and contain
executive and legislative bodies of their own. The judicial branch
operates at both the national and local levels. The South Korean
government's structure is determined by the Constitution of the Republic
of Korea. This document has been revised several times since its first
promulgation in 1948 (for details, see History of South Korea). However,
it has retained many broad characteristics; with the exception of the
short-lived Second Republic of South Korea, the country has always had
a presidential system with a relatively independent chief executive.
As with most stable three-branch systems, a careful system of checks
and balances is in place. For instance, the judges of the Constitutional
Court are partially appointed by the executive, and partially by the
legislature. Likewise, when a resolution of impeachment is passed by
the legislature, it is sent to the judiciary for a final decision.
Executive Branch:
The executive branch is headed by the president, The president is elected
directly by the people, and is the only elected member of the national
executive. The president serves for one five-year term; additional terms are
not permitted. The president is head of state, head of government and
commander in chief of the South Korean armed forces.The president is vested
with the power to declare war, and can also propose legislation to the
National Assembly. He or she can also declare a state of emergency or martial
law, subject to the Assembly's subsequent approval. The President can veto
bills, subject to a two-thirds majority veto override by the National Assembly.
However, the president does not have the power to dissolve the National
Assembly. This safeguard reflects the experience of authoritarian
governments under the First, Third, and Fourth Republics.
-The president is assisted in his or her duties by the Prime Minister of
South Korea as well as the Presidential Secretariat . The Prime Minister
is appointed by the president upon the approval of the National
Assembly, and has the power to recommend the appointment or
dismissal of the Cabinet ministers. The officeholder is not required to be
a member of the National Assembly. The Prime Minister is assisted in
his/her duties by the Prime Minister's Office which houses both the
Office for Government Policy Coordination and the Prime Minister’s
Secretariat, the former of which is headed by a cabinet-level minister
and the latter by a vice minister-level chief of staff. In the event that
the president is unable to fulfill his duties, the Prime Minister assumes
the president's powers and takes control of the state until the President
can once again fulfill his/her duties or until a new president is elected.
- In the event that they are suspected of serious wrongdoing, the
president and cabinet-level officials are subject to impeachment by the
National Assembly. Once the National Assembly votes in favor of the
impeachment the Constitutional Court should either confirm or reject
the impeachment resolution, once again reflecting the system of checks
and balances between the three branches of the government.
 The State Council :
The State Council is the highest body and national cabinet for policy
deliberation and resolution in the executive branch of the Republic
of Korea. The Constitution of the Republic of Korea mandates that
the Cabinet be composed of between 15 and 30 members including
the Chairperson, and currently the Cabinet includes the President,
the Prime Minister, the Vice Prime Minister (the Minister of Strategy
and Finance), and the cabinet-level ministers of the 17 ministries.
 The Constitution designates the President as the chairperson of the
Cabinet and the Prime Minister as the vice chairperson.
Nevertheless, the Prime Minister frequently holds the meetings
without the presence of the President as the meeting can be lawfully
held as long as the majority of the Cabinet members are present at
the meeting. Also, as many government agencies have recently
been moved out of Seoul into other parts of the country the need to
hold Cabinet meetings without having to convene in one place at
the same time has been growing, and therefore the law has been
amended to allow Cabinet meetings in a visual teleconference
format.
 It has to be noted that the Cabinet of the Republic of Korea performs
somewhat different roles than those of many other nations with
similar forms. As the Korean political system is basically a
presidential system yet with certain aspects of parliamentary cabinet
system combined, the Cabinet of the Republic of Korea also is a
combination of both systems. More specifically, the Korean Cabinet
performs policy resolutions as well as policy consultations to the
President. Reflecting that the Republic of Korea is basically a
presidential republic the Cabinet resolutions cannot bind the
president's decision, and in this regard, the Korean Cabinet is similar
to those advisory counsels in strict presidential republics. At the
same time, however, the Constitution of the Republic of Korea
specifies in details 17 categories including budgetary and military
matters, which necessitates the resolution of the Cabinet in addition
to the President's approval, and in this regard the Korean Cabinet is
similar to those cabinets in strict parliamentary cabinet systems
 Ministries:
- Currently, 18 ministries exist in the South Korean government. The
18 ministers are appointed by the President and report to the
Prime Minister. Also, some ministries have affiliated agencies
(listed below), which report both to the Prime Minister and to the
minister of the affiliated ministry. Each affiliated agency is headed
by a vice-minister-level commissioner except Prosecution Service
which is led by a minister-level Prosecutor General.
- The Minister of Strategy and Finance and the Minister of Education,
by law, automatically assume the positions of Deputy Prime
Ministers of the Republic of Korea.
- The respective ministers of the below ministries assume the
President's position in the below order, in the event that the
President cannot perform his/her duty and the Prime Minister
cannot assume the President's position. Also note that the
Constitution and the affiliated laws of the Republic of Korea
stipulates only so far as the Prime Minister and the 17 ministers as
those who can assume the President's position.
- Moreover, in the event that the Prime Minister cannot perform
his/her duty the Vice Prime Minister will assume the Prime
Minister's position, and if both the Prime Minister and the Vice
Prime Minister cannot perform the Prime Minister's role the
President can either pick one of the 17 ministers to assume the
Prime Minister's position or let the 17 ministers assume the
position according to the below order.
- The commissioner of National Tax Service, a vice-minister-level
official by law, is customarily considered to be a minister-level
official due to the importance of National Tax Service. For
example, the vice-commissioner of the agency will attend
meetings where other agencies would send their commissioners,
and the commissioner of the agency will attend meetings where
minister-level officials convene.
 Legislative branch:
-At the national level, the legislative branch consists of the National Assembly
of South Korea. This is a unicameral legislature; it consists of a single
large assembly. Most of its 300 members are elected from single-member
constituencies; however, 56 are elected through proportional
representation. The members of the National Assembly serve for four
years; in the event that a member is unable to complete his or her term, a
by-election is held. The National Assembly is charged with deliberating and
passing legislation, auditing the budget and administrative procedures,
ratifying treaties, and approving state appointments. In addition, it has the
power to impeach or recommend the removal of high officials.
The Assembly forms 17 standing committees to deliberate matters of detailed
policy. For the most part, these coincide with the ministries of the
executive branch.
Bills pass through these committees before they reach the floor. However,
before they reach committee, they must already have gained the support
of at least 20 members, unless they have been introduced by the
president. To secure final passage, a bill must be approved by a majority
of those present; a tie vote is not sufficient. After passage, bills are sent to
the president for approval; they must be approved within 15 days.
- Each year, the budget bill is submitted to the National Assembly by the
executive. By law, it must be submitted at least 90 days before the start
of the fiscal year, and the final version must be approved at least 30
days before the start of the fiscal year. The Assembly is also responsible
for auditing accounts of past expenditures, which must be submitted at
least 120 days before the start of the fiscal year.
Sessions of the Assembly may be either regular (once a year, for no
more than 100 days) or extraordinary (by request of the president or a
caucus, no more than 30 days). These sessions are open-door by
default but can be closed to the public by majority vote or by decree of
the Speaker. In order for laws to be passed in any session, a quorum of
half the members must be present.
Currently, seven political parties are represented in the National
Assembly.
 Judiciary:
The judicial branch includes the Supreme Court, the Constitutional
Court, regional appellate courts, and local district, branch, municipal,
and specialized courts. All courts are under the jurisdiction of the
national judiciary; independent local courts are not permitted.
Judges throughout the system are required to have passed a
rigorous training system including a two-year program and two-year
apprenticeship. All judicial training is provided through the Judicial
Research and Training Institute, and is limited to those who have
already passed the National Judicial Examination.
The Supreme Court is the head of the judicial branch of government
and the final court of appeal for all cases in South Korean law. The
Supreme Court, seated in Seoul, consists of fourteen Justices,
including one Chief Justice. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
has the power over all court administration, and can recommend
court-related legislation to the National Assembly. The Justices must
be at least 40 years old, and have at least 15 years of experience
practicing law. They serve for six-year terms; the Chief Justice
cannot be reappointed, but the other justices can.
Below the Supreme Court come appellate courts, stationed in five of the
country's major cities. Appellate courts typically consist of a panel of three
judges. Below these are district courts, which exist in most of the large cities of
South Korea. Below these are branch and municipal courts, positioned all over
the country and limited to small claims and petty offenses. Specialized courts
also exist for family, administrative, and patent cases.
The Constitutional Court, independent from the Supreme Court, is charged
purely with constitutional review and with deciding cases of impeachment.
Other judicial matters are overseen by the Supreme Court. This system was
newly established in the Sixth Republic, to help guard against the excesses
shown by past regimes. The Constitutional Court consists of nine judges. Of
these, three are recommended by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, three
by the National Assembly, and three by the president; however, all must be
appointed by the president. The President of the Constitutional Court is
appointed by the national president, subject to the approval of the National
Assembly. The members of the court serve for six-year renewable terms, and
cannot be older than 65 (except for the President of the court, who may be as
old as 70).
South Korea's judiciary is notorious for being overly lenient toward criminals.
For example, in the Cho Doo-soon Case, he was sentenced to only 12 years in
prison. In addition, the sentence is often commuted on the grounds that the
offender is reflecting on sex crimes and sexual exploitation crimes.
 Elections in south korea:
- Elections in South Korea are held on national level to select the
President and the National Assembly. South Korea has a multi-
party system, with two dominant parties and numerous third
parties. Elections are overseen by the Electoral Branch,
National Election Commission (Republic of Korea). The most
recent presidential election was held on 9 May 2017.
- The president is directly elected for a single five-year term by
plurality vote. The National Assembly has 300 members
elected for a four-year term, 253 in single-seat constituencies
and 47 members by proportional representation. Each
individual party intending to represent its policies in the
National Assembly must be qualified through the Assembly's
general election by either: i) the national party-vote reaching
over 3.00% on a proportional basis or ii) more than 5
members of their party being elected in each of their first-
past-the-post election constituencies.
 Human Rights Commission:
- National Human Rights Commission of Korea by law, is guaranteed an
independent status regarding all human rights issues in Korea. To
ensure its independent status it is legally separated from all three
branches (legislative, executive, judicial) of the government of South
Korea. Moreover, to further ensure its independence, 4 of the 11
commissioners are chosen by the National Assembly, another 4 by the
President, and the final 3 by the Chief Justice, so that no branch can
hold the majority in the commission.
 Local governments:
- Local autonomy was established as a constitutional principle of South
Korea beginning with the First Republic. However, for much of the 20th
century this principle was not honored. From 1965 to 1995, local
governments were run directly by provincial governments, which were
run directly by the national government. However, since the elections of
1995, a degree of local autonomy has been restored. Local magistrates
and assemblies are elected in each of the primary and secondary
administrative divisions of South Korea, that is, in every province,
metropolitan or special city, and district. Officials at lower levels, such as
eup and dong, are appointed by the city or county government.
As noted above, local autonomy does not extend to the judicial
branch. It also does not yet extend to many other areas,
including fire protection and education, which are managed by
independent national agencies. Local governments also have
very limited policy-making authority; generally, the most that
they can do is decide how national policies will be implemented.
However, there is some political pressure for the scope of local
autonomy to be extended.
Although the chief executive of each district is locally elected,
deputy executives are still appointed by the central government.
It is these deputy officials who have detailed authority over most
administrative matters.